The Ultimate Decision
by eclipsed heart
Summary: During STW: What if Fang had made it to Germany and gotten into the castle, but been caught by the Director? Suddenly, the plan for Max's demise changes, forcing her to make the ultimate decision: kill her best friend or die at his hands. FAX.
1. A Fight to the Death!

AN: okay, so i am brand new to the Maximum Ride section of FanFiction, as i just finished reading the third book last thursday and absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the other books! so, anyway, when i was reading about how Max had to fight Omega, and thought, "What would've happened if she'd ha to fight Fang instead?" so here it is! enjoy!

The Ultimate Decision

Summary: During Saving the World: What if Fang had made it to Germany, attempted to break in to the castle, but been caught by the Director? Suddenly, the Director's plan for Max's demise changes, forcing Max to make the ultimate decision: kill her best friend or die at his hands.

--

Everyone clapped as the superhuman—Omega—walked off the stage. Clearly, they were impressed. And frankly, so was I.

"And now, to wrap it all up," the Director announced, "we are going to show some of our experiments that turned out…not so well. Be aware that what you are about to see is from the very early stages of our experimenting and research, and, at that time, was a major breakthrough…"

The Director droned on and on, and suddenly, Iggy and the Gasman walked up behind us. I was shocked and surprised to see them, but I couldn't help but wonder where Fang was….

"Max!" Iggy hissed into my ear. "I guess we got here a bit too late. We were sidetracked. And Max, you need to watch out because-"

In that crucial moment, the Director's voice overshadowed Iggy's because I heard her speak my name.

"…And now, the final presentation: a fight to the death between Maximum Ride and Fang, two of our experimental combinations of human and avian DNA!" Everyone clapped, waiting for something to happen. Then, I saw Fang emerge, coming from the same direction as all the other experiments. He did not look too pleased to be where he was.

"Maximum Ride?" the Director called out.

It was then that I realized just what the Director had said. Apparently, the rest of the flock had caught on before me. _A fight to the death between Maximum Ride and Fang…_

Crap.

Slowly, I made my way up to the cleared area in front, where Fang already was waiting. I was entranced, not wanting to have to fight him, especially to the death. I looked into the eyes of my best friend, searching them for any clue that he might be having the same thoughts as me. He rarely revealed any emotion and today was no exception.

I continued to walk to him, to watch him for any sign that he had a plan, because I didn't know what to do. I didn't stop until I was right in front of him, inches away. I didn't move and neither did he, even when the Director called for us to begin. But, then again, since when did we have any respect for authority?

"You made it," I whispered to him so that no one else would hear.

He nodded, but the move so small that I barely caught it.

"It wasn't a joke."

He nodded again.

"What should we do?" I hoped he would actually speak to me this time. How I had missed hearing his voice…

Whatever I had imagined his response was going to be, I didn't expect what happened next. Faster than lightning, faster than even me, his hand whipped out and caught my neck in a chokehold, my hands instinctively attaching to his wrist. For an instant, I could've sworn regret, or something of the sort, flashed across his eyes.

I guess I knew his plan now.

I locked my eyes onto his, my emotions betraying me, daring to flash across my face. It was the one and only moment where I feared Fang.

"Fang," I whispered, so quiet I wondered if he could hear me. "I get it. I see your plan. Go ahead, Fang. I'm not going to kill my best friend."

His hand loosened slightly, provoked by my stinging words. But they were true. I would not kill him, or even try to. It was just one of those things that were impossible.

He looked me straight in the eye. "I don't want to do it, Max, but I was built to survive, and this is the only way out that I can see."

"Don't worry about it. You're in charge now. The flock is yours. Take care of them." I felt a tear slide down my cheek, down my neck, and onto his hand. Great. Now I was going to start crying.

_Isn't there something else you should probably tell him, Max? You two can get out of this alive if you work together._

And, of course, to top it off, the Voice was here to witness my impending death sentence.

_What is there to do? What am I supposed to tell him?_ I thought back.

_Tell him how you feel, no lies, no cover-ups; just how you really feel about him._

I closed my eyes, my breathing coming harder with Fang's hand disturbing it. For once, I thought the Voice might be right. And it knew what no one else did, apparently. And so, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to heed it one last time.

"Fang, just- before you do this, I want you to know something."

He looked at me intently, trying to pry it out of my eyes. But I had kept this hidden from him for so long that he wasn't going to see it now.

"Fang, I-" I quickly crossed out this approach to telling him. "You remember when we were living at the beach, right? And the Erasers showed up, and Ari tried to-to kill you?"

He nodded cautiously.

"And you remember what happened after, right? When I was…girly?"

He fought a smile, but then nodded.

"I'm glad I did that. And when we were in the cave? When you…we…?"

And he—yeah, you guessed it—nodded, again. What was with that?

"I'm really sorry that I just-just flew off like that. I should've explained and I'm really sorry."

"What is the point of this conversation again?"

I sighed. "I was getting there. The point is, I guess, that…I didn't fly off because I…didn't enjoy it, but because I was afraid I guess…"

"Of what? What was there to be afraid of?" I could've sworn that his grip tightened.

"I was afraid to admit that I liked it, loved it, even. To admit that…I loved you, more than anyone else in the flock, anyone else in the world. That I was in love with you, Fang."

I felt his hand loosen, shock crossing his eyes."What?"

"I love you, Fang. And I'm not on Valium, either.

And then, again, he moved so fast that I didn't realize. He released my neck most of the way, but brought me up to him, and pressed his lips to mine. I heard the gasps of shock echoing around the stadium. I had forgotten where we were, but I no longer cared. I enthusiastically kissed him back, aware that everyone was watching: the Director, Jeb, the flock (well, except for Iggy), Ari, and all the other people invited to Itex. Somehow, their presence seemed insignificant, the fact that Fang and I were supposed to be killing each other seemed unimportant, and that we were in a castle in Germany seemed ridiculous. All that was possible, all that mattered, was Fang and me, me and Fang, here, now, seeming to have finally worked it out with each other; that were we here, kissing.

Fang pulled back, wearing the biggest smile I've ever seen on him, bigger than the Eiffel Tower we had only just seen in Paris.

"Wow," he stated plain and simple, pretty much summing up the events of the past few minutes or hours even. "Wow," he said again, his smile growing even wider, "I-I can't believe it, Max. Why didn't you ever say anything? Give me some sort of sign? You don't know how close I was to giving up on the whole thing."

"Because…well, come on, Fang. You know me better than that. I hate to admit to things, ask for help, and such. Could you have honestly seen me doing that?"

I had forgotten about everyone else again. I heard confused murmurs run through the crowd and looked up briefly to see the livid face of the Director. "I think we should wrap this up, Fang. She doesn't look too happy." He followed my eyes and saw her, too.

Then, he grabbed me back in a chokehold. Or, at least, that's what it must have looked like, but in reality, his hand was gentler this time and I realized what he was doing. We were going to blow through it, fake it, only pretend to fight each other. That worked for me.

In a way that I'm sure looked real, I swung around and roundhouse kicked him. I only lightly tapped his arm with my foot, but he got the idea, dropping his chokehold and twisting his face into a pained look.

"So…you gonna answer my question?" I ducked as he threw a fist my way, slowly.

"Yep."

"'Yep' you're gonna answer or 'yep' is you answer?" I gave him a heads up as my fist flew toward his jaw.

"You really think I would answer yes to that question? Of course I couldn't see you doing that. At least I couldn't see you making the first move." He made the motion of a kick, aiming for my stomach. "That's why I made the first move; because I thought that then maybe you'd follow my lead."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But obviously I was mistaken. You're not very good at following." I ducked as he punched again and swung my legs around to knock him off his feet.

"You got that right. And even thought I figured you had some sort of feelings for me, I didn't want to risk the unity of the flock over it." Fang fell through the air with a _whoosh _and I muttered, "Sorry."

He didn't seem to mind that I had knocked him down. "How'd you figure that?"

"Well, the cave, obviously, the way you seemed to always have my back, how you treated me at Anne's, how you reacted to Sam, and…well, something Angel said…."

"What'd she say?" He rose off the ground dramatically.

"When we were at the football game, she said not to worry, that everyone was having fun, that I would still save the world, and…that you still loved me. But before I could question her, people started recognizing us and we had to pull that up-and-away."

Fang looked genuinely surprised as he spun for a roundhouse kick. "She said that? Damn, I should've been more careful around her."

"So it was true?!" This time, _I_ reached out and caught him in a fake chokehold.

He flushed, and not just from my grip. "Well…yeah. Definitely."

I was shocked. Well, maybe not so much, since I had suspected it for quite some time. But to have it confirmed? That blew my mind away. "Wow. So you're saying…"

"I love you, Maximum Ride." He pried my hands away from his neck in a fast movement. "And I'll never stop." He kissed me again, forgetting our invented routine to please the bystanders. But who cared about them? This pleased _me_.

AN: awww...adorable! ok, for now, this is going to be a oneshot, unless you guys want me to do otherwise and i can actually think of something else to do with this. please review!!  
_-eh-_


	2. Flyboys, Turtles, and Deaths

AN: gah! okokok, here's another chapter for you guys! i'm just gonna continue in Germany for now, changing stuff though, because the other half of the flock is there too! THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the reviews!! i did not expect that many...anyways, enjoy!

The Ultimate Decision

Chapter 2

Apparently, that was the last straw for the Director. Her scream/growl/roar caused Fang and me to again remember where we were and break apart abruptly. She was on the move, toward the other experiments. Then, she reached out and grabbed Omega. She muttered something to him and gave him a rough push towards where Fang and I still stood.

Crap.

Again.

The Director walked back to the podium. "Attention, please, ladies and gentlemen. There seems to be a flaw in our plan, but don't worry. The show only gets better from here." She eyed me disapprovingly. "Since it appears Maximum and Fang will not fight to the death, they shall fight against Omega. Most of you should recall what you have seen Omega can do. Now, begin!"

Omega didn't seem to have a mind of his own; he was compelled to follow the Director's orders. He charged at Fang, going for a deadly blow. He was inches away before my instincts kicked in at last and pulled Fang away, milliseconds before the hit. Fang caught my eye, his silent thanks. I had seen how powerful Omega was and I wasn't too eager to let him use his powers on us, but before I could attempt a hit, Fang did. I saw his fist, hard and unmoving, sail through the air and collide with Omega's jaw. Things seemed to move in slow motion as Omega stayed exactly where he was, not stumbling, his head not even shifting in the slightest, and Fang let out what I could only describe as a howl of agony. That must have really, _really_ hurt.

That's when I threw myself into the battle, angered by Fang's injury, upset that we were even _in _this situation in the first place. I was mad that the flock had split up and reunited under these deadly circumstances. I was enraged that Fang and the rest of the flock were in danger because of a situation I could have easily avoided. But mostly, (and don't you _dare_ laugh) I was absolutely _furious_ that Fang and I had finally come to terms with each other, only to have it ruined completely by a stupid fight to the death.

_Max._

Oh, of course. How on earth could I have possibly forgotten my best friend, the Voice?

_Get out of my head._

_Max, this is _not_ a healthy outlet for your anger. Omega is too powerful; you can't afford to be reckless. You're gambling with your life here, as well as the lives of Fang and the rest of your flock. _

That actually made me pay attention for a moment.

_Well, then, what do you suggest I do?_

_Omega has one flaw: his eyes. He can't follow things well with them._

_Is that so?_

I tried out the Voice's recommendation. I flashed my fist in front of Omega's eyes and sure enough, confusion flickered across his face. Score! And I punched him square in the nose.

By now, Fang had recovered enough to help me out. He looked at me questioningly, waiting for an order.

"His eyes!" I shouted. "He can't follow things with them!"

Fang nodded and jumped into action. In a matter of minutes, dear old Omega was no more. Itex's greatest creation was taken down by a couple of "experiment's that turned out...not so well," according to the lady in charge. Now, of course, this did nothing to help the Director control her temper, but I was a bit too busy bathing in the impossible moment to notice, until Nudge tugged my shirt.

"Max! Flyboys! And the Director's trying to make a break for it!" She pointed to the Director's retreating figure. I shot a quick glance at Fang.

"Go! We can handle the Flyboys!"

At his words, Nudge and I dashed off, catching the Director just before she reached the door out. I grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Hello, _Mom_." I took hold of her arm and motioned for Nudge to get her other side. "U-and-A!" A bunch of stupid Flyboys flew through the top barrier, short-circuiting it. I smiled. Those Flyboys could be pesky, but they sure had impecable timing.

Nudge and I extended our wings, almost struggling to lug the Director with us.

"What are you doing? Put me down this instant!" she shrieked. But we didn't heed and Nudge and I continued up.

-_-_-_-_-

Fang gestured for the rest of the flock. He couldn't believe anything that had just happened and he wasn't counting on any of it lasting, in case he had just dreamed it up. But, focusing on the present moment, there were alot of Flyboys. _A lot._ He wasn't sure if the flock could take them down.

Iggy automatically took Fang's right flank, the Gasman taking the left, with Angel and Total behind them. Surprisingly, Ari walked to Iggy's right, wearing his battle face. He looked briefly to Fang, as if to ask if he should step away, but Fang nodded at him, granting him permission to stay put. The Flyboys were closing in on them, throwing the bystanders into total chaos.

"Ready...set...GO!" Fang shouted. And the flock lunged at the Flyboys. Total went for their legs, while Fang, Iggy, Ari, and Gazzy went hand-to-hand. But Angel just stood where she was. Flyboys began to make their way toward her.

_There's too many for us to destroy on our own_, she thought to Fang.

_What else is there to do?_

_When all else fails, go up. _Angel smiled at him.

_The barrier. What do we do about that?_

_We let the Flyboys handle that._

As it turned out though, they didn't need to worry about that. There was a loud ruckus outside the castle walls, shouts and chants. The Flyboys heard this and instantly took off, not stopping once to consider the barrier. But, when the Flyboys were done, there was no more barrier to worry about.

"Well, that takes care of the barrier _and_ the Flyboys," Fang muttered. And at that moment, the flock heard a moan and a thump, coming from Ari's direction. Total was the first on the spot, sniffing Ari and placing a paw on his neck.

"Uh-oh. No pulse there." Total rested his furry head on Ari's hest, above his heart. "No heartbeat either." Then, the Scottie lowered his head so his eyes were level with Ari's chest. "He's not breathing. I think it's safe to call this guy dead."

Fang walked over and turned Ari onto his stomach, lowering his shirt collar. And there was the expiration date. Fang stood up again, his face impassive as usual. Somehow, he had a feeling that Max wouldn't much like this.

-_-_-_-_-

"I'll ask again: Who. Is. My. _Real_. Mother?"

The Director was very shaken. Nudge and I had already relinquished our grip once and were willing to do it again.

"I don't know her name! But she was some sort of doctor! Hispanic! Gonzalez, or Martinez, or something. Please! Don't let go! That's all I can remember!"

Let me tell you, the woman seemed pretty desperate. Nudge and I were quiet for a bit, dangling the unwanted Director between us.

"You know, you guys aren't the only successful experiments we've had," she said unexpectedly.

"Are you talking about Omega and Spot back there?"

"No, me. I'm part Galapagos turtle. I'm 107 years old."

"Really? You must have some other secret, because you don't look a day over 105."

And then I let go.

AN: okay, you guys should know what basically happens to the Director from there. i'm really sorry if there's any spelling or grammar mistakes, but i did this right on FanFiction, so there's no spell check. hope you guys liked it! next chapter, i'll try to squeeze in more FAXNESS! if there is a next chapter. i originally planned this as a oneshot, so it might be cut at any time. sorry folks 

REVIEW! i absolutely LOVE them!!

_-eh-_


	3. No More Misunderstandings

AN: hello again! again, I'm really sorry about any spelling/grammar mistakes last chapter. I do believe that I fixed them, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem now. but, anyways, it's back! the story that was originally meant to be a oneshot! enjoy! (psst! there's more FAX in this chapter!!)

Chapter 3

Finally, we had made it back to the States. We were on the East Coast, staying in a cave overlooking a fatal drop into nothingness. We were close to the ocean and could smell the salt in the air, hear the crashing waves, from our makeshift home.

It got late and the flock was completely worn out, except me. I was still reveling in the elation of what had happened in Germany. Still, Iggy volunteered to take first watch.

For almost an hour, I watched the flames of the fire dance in the wind, unable to sleep. I looked over to Iggy and saw that he was beginning to nod off. I rose, careful not to startle him or wake the others. I lightly shook his shoulder.

"I'll take it from here, Iggy. You sleep." He didn't protest, didn't reply, just got up and sank down onto the cave floor, asleep in an instant.

I stared to the mouth of the cave, looking into the starry night, enjoying the view. I lost myself in the stars, picking out shapes and stories hidden in their lights. I was so absorbed that I didn't notice him until he had plopped down right next to me.

"Hey, Max."

"Hey, Fang." I looked at him for a moment before turning back to the stars.

"I thought Iggy had first watch."

"He did, but he started to fall asleep, so I took over."

"Shouldn't you sleep too?"

I shook my head. "Not tired."

"Look, Max, I-I think we should talk." I looked back at him and, for once, saw something in his eyes, a plea of some sort. "I know you don't like to talk about…emotions and such, but just please don't fly off or leave. I really think we need to talk."

"Okay." I looked at my feet, wishing so much that I could use them and get out of there, but that was the one thing that he had requested for me to not do.

"In Germany…did you mean what you said?"

"It depends what you're talking about. I said a lot of things in Germany."

He smiled slightly, but immediately sank back into his emotionless defense. "Right before you said you weren't on Valium."

Whoa. I hadn't expected that. Of all things he could question, _that_?!

I looked him in the eye. "Why wouldn't I mean that?"

Fang sighed and pushed his hair out of his face. "It's just that…you, like me, were built to survive. And to outsmart whoever tried to make sure that you didn't. You just might have taken that as an exit route or something. I don't know…"

I was absolutely mortified. "Fang, if that was the case, you wouldn't be alive anymore," I answered coldly.

"So…you actually meant it?"

"Of course!" I snapped. "I told you the truth because I sincerely thought that I wasn't gonna make it out of there alive! I wouldn't have said it if someone else was trying to kill me because I would've killed them first! I wouldn't have said that if we hadn't been in that situation, but I wasn't gonna die without letting you know that!"

Fang was silent for a moment. "You really meant it."

"Yes! I've been trying to get that across to myself for a long time, but I just didn't realize it. I didn't realize it, so Angel didn't either. But the Voice did. The Voice is actually the one who pushed me to do it! I never thought it would actually be good for something like that." I met Fang's eyes, the stars vaguely reflecting in them. "But the point is I meant it. And I hope you did, too."

"Yes. I meant it. And it was something that I was trying to tell you for so long. But the message always seemed to fall on deaf ears."

For a while, we both watched the night, gazing at the stars in its dark grip.

"So…we both meant what we said to each other in Germany. Where does that leave us?"

Fang smiled at me and my heart nearly stopped at the sight.

"I think that leaves us about here." And he pressed his lips to mine.

-_-_-_-_-

Angel rolled over and stretched, almost hesitant to open her eyes in case they were still at Itex. But they weren't; she woke up to the cave she remembered falling asleep in. She sat up and looked around. Everyone else was still in their place, sound asleep. But there were two empty spaces that made Angel's eyes widen in panic. Max and Fang. They weren't where they were supposed to be.

Before waking anyone else up, in case it was a false alarm, Angel ran around the cave, looking for one of them or both of them. She was about to give up and wake the others when she saw their sleeping forms, bundled together near the mouth of the cave. Angel smiled to herself before quietly going back to the others.

-_-_-_-_-

I woke up to find my head resting on something softer than rock, but harder than a pillow. I opened my eyes and saw Fang, in all his glory, still asleep beside me. Then I remembered what had happened the night before and bolted into an upright position.

(Insert swear word here.)

I had fallen asleep on the watch! Where was the flock? What if something bad had happened to them while I was sleeping? Wouldn't Fang have taken over the watch? Why didn't he? Damn it, damn it, damn it! How could I have been so stupid!

Fang stirred beside me and I tried to wake him up completely.

"Fang! We fell asleep during our watch!" He was up immediately, looking around us for any sign of Flyboys or something of the sort.

"(insert another swear word here)!" Fang shouted something…inappropriate. You didn't catch it? Good.

When Fang was done shouting, I heard a grumble from further in the cave. "Could you guys kinda keep it down before you wake up everyone, and I mean _everyone_?!" It was Total.

I let out a whooping sigh of relief and sank back down to where I had fallen asleep. Obviously, if Total was still himself, then everyone had to be okay. Fang sat down too.

"Let's not do that again," I said.

"Do what?"

"Fall asleep on watch, freak out, yell cuss words at the top of our lungs…you know, that sort of stuff."

"Oh. I thought you meant this." Fang kissed me again and I let him. Okay, so I did more than let him. I kissed him back. After a few minutes, I broke away to breathe.

"Actually, I think this is the kind of stuff we should do more often." And this time, _I_ kissed him.

I had never seen this side of Fang before, never even known that this side of him existed. This was his mellow, hearts-and-flowers side. I loved it, loved him, every part of him, every side that I had seen and had yet to see. I couldn't stop myself from loving him, no matter how hard I tried. That was something that I'd learned the hard way.

But he still loved me anyway. He was mine and I was his. Maybe, just maybe, we could make it last…

Forever.

**REVIEW!! THIS COULD BE THE LAST CHAPTER!!**


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